The 30th book I read this year was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book was another booktok favourite that I bought at the time of the hype and left on a shelf until well after the conversation has ended!
Plot summary attempt
This book follows a journalist, Monique, who is a bottom of the ladder employee at a magazine and newly separated from her husband. For some reason, legendary Hollywood star, Evelyn Hugo has granted the magazine an interview, but only if Monique is the writer. Since she hasn’t given a public interview in years, this is a huge scoop for the magazine so they reluctantly allow it. However, when Monique meets Evelyn, the enigmatic starlet reveals that she hasn’t bought her here to do an interview, instead she wants Monique to write her autobiography. She promises all the rights to Monique, on the condition that the book is not released until her death.
Reluctantly and with some confusion, Monique agrees, not wanting this opportunity to pass her by and so begins an intense few weeks. Evelyn’s life story is told husband by husband, with chapters interspersed where we snap back to Monique’s life. Evelyn is challenging, changeable, conniving but somehow empathetic. As Monique starts to understand her more, it makes her reflect on her own life, and the things she hasn’t been brave enough to seize wholeheartedly.
But Evelyn has an ulterior motive in asking Monique to tell her story and there’s definitely something deeper behind why she wants to tell it now. Can Monique live with the answers?
My thoughts
This was such a good book, it had that storytelling style that lets you fall into the narrative. Evelyn is complex and not necessarily likeable but somehow, you still find yourself liking her as a reader, or at least feeling incredible empathy for her. I thought the ending was both tragic and perfect for Evelyn character and I liked how her story changed the narrator for the better. I really wasn’t sure this book would be my thing and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
